The Canadian men's eight won its final race today at the Henley Royal Regatta in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The eight is the first Canadian crew to win the prestigious Grand Challenge Cup - the oldest cup at Henley dating back to 1839.
"To be here in Henley in front of the British, and have a top row, was wonderful," said Mike Spracklen, coach of the Canadian heavyweight men and a native of Great Britain.
The Canadian men's eight, rowing as Victoria City Rowing Club/University of Victoria, beat a top German crew rowing under the club names of Ruder Club Hansa von 1898 e.v. Dortmund/Ruderverein Munster. The winning time was 6.20.
The men's eight members are Andrew Hoskins (Edmonton, Alta.), Kyle Hamilton (Richmond, B.C.), Adam Kreek (London, Ont.), Kevin Light (Sidney, B.C.), Jeff Powell (Winnipeg, Man.), Ben Rutledge (Victoria, B.C.), Joe Stankevicius (Dundas, Ont.), Matt Swick (St. Catharines, Ont.) and Brian Price (coxswain, Belleville, Ont.).
"We shot out right at the start," said Adam Kreek, who was rowing at his first Henley Royal. "We kept the stroke long and powerful throughout the race, and each time the Germans made a move, we pushed right back." Canada won by a half a boat length.
"It was a fantastic race," said Kevin Light. "Henley is a very special regatta and having Mike (Spracklen) as our coach has been an extra bonus. We were able to train at his home club (Marlow) and concentrate on our preparation and racing."
In the Stewards' Challenge Cup, Canadians Doug Vandor (Dewittville, Que.), Jon Mandick (Edmonton, Alta.), Iain Brambell (Brentwood Bay, B.C.) and Gavin Hassett (Victoria B.C.) lost their final race to the Danish National Team lightweight crew, former World Champions and winners of a recent World Cup race. The Canadians, all members of the 2002 National Team, were rowing under the name of the Gorge Rowing Centre, Victoria, and are coached by Terry Paul.
"We had a really difficult first 10 strokes," said Iain Brambell, "but we caught back up and were pretty excited to stay with them for most of the race." The Danes won by just over a length in a time of 7.01.
"There were some challenging conditions and the current was strong, but we settled into a rhythm and were able to keep within a boat length for most of the race," explained Gavin Hassett. "Henley's a narrow course and there are a lot of distractions, but the guys handled it amazingly well. It has given us some experience and confidence as a crew going into Lucerne." Hassett, who won a silver at the 1996 Olympics, is a veteran of the lightweight men’s four, along with Brambell (2000 Olympics), while Mandick and Vandor are relative newcomers.
The four and eight will now join two other Canadian crews in Lucerne, Switzerland for next week's World Cup race.
A total of 446 crews were entered at this year’s Henley Royal Regatta. The entry list included many Olympic and World Medallists and 83 overseas crews from 12 different nations.
Henley Royal web site: http://www.hrr.co.uk/